Is China a superpower today? Other than the USA and USSR, have there been superpowers in the past?

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 15:58:09 -0400

There is no doubt that the United States is considered a superpower today by most definitions. My working definition of a superpower is a nation with the ability to project power in order to achieve its goals and interests on a global scale.

With that or the many similar definitions in mind, the USSR during the cold war and the British Empire prior to World War Two were also clearly superpowers.

China today has an operational aircraft carrier, an active manned spaceflight program and a large, powerful and modern military capable of global deployment, which in my opinion qualifies them as a superpower as well. I would also argue that Japan up until the battle of Leyte Gulf also was a superpower, and that it lost that status with the loss of its ability to deploy naval forces reliably outside of Japanese waters.

I'd like to know others' opinions, particularly with regard to Imperial Japan, but other examples of superpowers as well.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Oct 16 at 2015 4:02 PM

LTC Stephen F. — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 16:02:35 -0400

Yes LTC Private RallyPoint Member China is superpower if for no other reason than the sheer size of its military and the position it physically holds in the world among its neighbors.
China's exerted influence on the Spratly Islands, its proximity to southeast Asia, the Philippines, Japan and South Korea over the past decades have helped shape our policy.

Response by SN Greg Wright made Oct 16 at 2015 4:21 PM

SN Greg Wright — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 16:21:11 -0400

LTC Private RallyPoint Member China does not have an OPERATIONAL aircraft carrier. China has a cold-war era USSR throwaway that they've revamped into a ship that can only launch ONE of their aircraft inventory with no more than fuel weight -- no weapons loadout. So it's virtually useless as anything other than a training platform, which, as has been pointed out, has some value for the future. But as power-projection today?

Nope.

As for the intent of your question...I suppose China is a baby super-power. Thing is, they have a lot of military power, sure. Certainly more than anyone other than the US and Russia. Application of that power to either of those two countries, however, would result in the total loss of it within a month or so. That's not a statement I'd make about Russia vs the US, soo....

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Oct 16 at 2015 4:30 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 16:30:04 -0400

China is a regional power militarily and has global economic reach. Not knowing the specifics of navies, I would say the more islands and land they occupy, the better for us because the Chinese will have to provide logistical support to many places, much as the Japanese did in WWII. The Pacific Ocean became Japan's Russia. I believe Japan has ridden Americas coat tail for defense of the country, but that was our doing after WWII.

Response by COL Ted Mc made Oct 16 at 2015 7:38 PM

COL Ted Mc — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 19:38:11 -0400

LTC Private RallyPoint Member - Major; I don't think that the PRC qualifies under the traditional definition of "super power". The PRC may have a large military but it doesn't really have the ability to deploy a significant force globally (nor the ability to support it if it could deploy it).

Economically, the PRC is a "super power". Militarily it is a "regional power" and there is no historical precedent for believing that the PRC wants to be a global super power (except to the extent that that is required to ensure that other countries leave it alone.

Response by SSG Gerhard S. made Nov 25 at 2015 11:22 AM

SSG Gerhard S. — Wed, 25 Nov 2015 11:22:54 -0500

As to Super powers in the past, I could suggest a few... Roman Empire, the Mongols, 18 th century Britain., perhaps even the Persians.